23-F

23-F was a fascist coup attempt in Spain that occurred on 23 February 1981, when Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero led 200 armed Civil Guard officers into the Congress of Deputies during the vote to elect a Prime Minister. Tejero's forces occupied the Chamber of Deputies as the Captain-General of Valencia, Juan Milans del Bosch, rose up in Valencia, put tanks on the streets and declared a state of emergency, encouraging other military forces to join the coup.The officers held the parliamentarians and ministers hostage for 18 hours, during which King Juan Carlos I of Spain opposed the coup in a televised address, calling for the rule of law and the continuation of democracy in the country. The next morning, the coup plotters, who lacked the support of the monarchy and the rest of the country, surrendered to government forces, sounding the death knell of Spanish fascism.